For a couple of hours Saturday afternoon, as the rest of the world focused on the World Cup, The Open (British, of course), a war on the other side of Mother Earth, and Anti-ICE protests in Portland, the American political spotlight was focused on Wiscasset. Wiscasset?

Yup, Wiscasset, at the Middle School. That is where some 854 Lincoln County Democrats gathered to choose 18 delegates to Saturday’s state party convention in Bangor. That event may be the first time the New York Times sent a reporter to Wiscasset to do something other than stop for lunch at Red’s Eats.

The county delegates gathered as part of their effort to select the party’s candidate to oppose five-time Republican Senate powerhouse Susan Collins. National pundits and party officials predict the winner of the Maine Senate race could shift the political balance of Congress. 

While the county delegates are not legally bound to choose a certain candidate, they were selected because they pledged their support. I know the process is unusual, but under state law, it was the only way the Democrats could put a name on the November Senate ballot after Graham Platner, who won the June primary, withdrew in the wake of news reports of sexual misconduct claims.

On Saturday, eight counties met to pick convention delegates. On Sunday, the other eight counties met to do the same.

State press reports say a majority of both Saturday's and Sunday’s caucus delegates favored former state Senate president Troy Jackson, 58, of Allagash,who represented the St. John Valley for years. Ironically, Sen. Collins, 73, is from Caribou, which is in his old Senate district. 

Just before Sunday’s county caucuses, one of Jackson’s principal opponents, Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State, dropped out. After that vote, Dr. Nirav Shah followed suit as the party seems to have embraced Jackson.

Jackson's win is expected to be affirmed at the party's statewide convention on Saturday.

Sarah Foulger, the retired pastor of Boothbay Harbor’s Congregational Church, signed up to vote for the Lincoln County delegation. In an interview, she did not announce her support for a candidate, but her preferences were clear as she explained the reason she participated. “Keep in mind we have to select the best candidate to defeat the (Susan) Collins (political) machine,” she said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett, a Democrat, declined to predict the eventual winner of the county caucus or the state convention. But he acknowledged that whoever wins the support of the state party has a tough job ahead.

“When was the last time a sitting Republican senator was defeated? I think it was years ago, maybe it was Margaret Chase Smith?”

Brackett was right. It was 1972 when Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who served four terms in the U.S.House and four terms in the Senate, was defeated by Democrat William Hathaway. County Democratic Party officials had just a few days to set up Saturday’s caucus.

While state committee officials set up the online voting system, it was up to the locals to arrange the meeting. East Boothbay’s Byron Cortez, the vice chairman of the local party, said they had just a few days to put the Wiscasset event together.

But for Cortez, it was more than a political hobby, for he was born in Guatemala. He explained that his native country has endured a bloody civil war. When attending the university, he said the army pulled one of his classmates out of class, dragged him into the courtyard, and shot him. It was time to leave, said Cortez, who moved to America and became a citizen.

Miles Hospital Labor and Delivery closure vote

Last weekend’s political caucuses were not the only votes affecting Lincoln County residents.

On Thursday, the Lincoln County Miles Hospital advisory board will vote on a proposal to close its labor and delivery services. It has drawn strong local opposition. “We hope they will reject the proposal," said Margaret Reynolds, a leader in the movement opposing the closure.

At a recent public meeting in Damariscotta, Cindy Wade, the hospital CEO, said the closure was needed because birth rates are down and they cannot find doctors who want to work part-time.

Reynolds disputes that. “We have a list of six doctors who would love to work at Miles.” The opposition’s anti-closure petition campaign has gathered 7,000 signatures. They have also distributed flyers opposing the move. They are also seeking support from the county’s towns and have distributed yard signs plugging their cause. Opponents have scheduled a rally for Friday as part of their effort to gather statewide political support.

The final decision to eliminate the Miles labor and delivery services is scheduled to be made by the MaineHealth board of directors on Aug. 6.